ICE Detained Man Who Was Driving His Pregnant Wife to a Hospital

New York Times

By Jacey Fortin and Sarah Mervosh

August 19, 2018

ICE Detained Man Who Was Driving His Pregnant Wife to a Hospital

A man was driving his pregnant wife to a scheduled cesarean section on Wednesday when immigration officials arrested him — leaving her to drive herself to a hospital and have the baby on her own, according to the woman and the family’s legal representative.

The couple had pulled into a gas station in San Bernardino, Calif., on their way to deliver their child. While they were there, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers came to their car window and asked for identification, said the woman, Maria del Carmen Venegas.

Her husband, Joel Arrona-Lara, 35, did not have his driver’s license with him, and officers arrested him, she said.

The arrest quickly provoked outrage and fed into a growing anger toward ICE and the Trump administration’s sweeping immigration policies, which have expanded who is considered a priority for officers to arrest. In recent months, immigrants have been arrested while delivering a pizza or watering the lawn.

On Saturday, ICE said in a statement that Mr. Arrona-Lara, a citizen of Mexico, was in the United States illegally. Later, the agency released a second statement saying he was wanted for homicide in his home country. “Mr. Arrona-Lara was brought to ICE’s attention due to an outstanding warrant issued for his arrest in Mexico on homicide charges,” the statement said.

Emilio Amaya, the director of the San Bernardino Community Service Center who is acting as Mr. Arrona-Lara’s legal representative, contested ICE’s account. He said the paperwork from ICE does not mention homicide.

“According to the family, he has no criminal history in Mexico, and we did our own search through Mexican channels and we didn’t find anything under his name,” Mr. Amaya said.

Mr. Arrona-Lara was being held at the Theo Lacy Facility in Orange, Calif. Other than his status as an undocumented immigrant, he has no criminal record in the United States, according to Mr. Amaya.

No matter what the warrant was for, Mr. Amaya said, that does not explain why officials appeared to disregard Ms. Venegas’s medical condition.

“Even though the officers knew that she was pregnant, they didn’t really care and they still proceeded to do the arrest,” he said. “So for us, on top of the unjustified arrest is the fact that they compromised the well-being of the child and the wife.”

ICE’s statement did not address whether officials knew that Ms. Venegas was about to give birth or did anything to assist her.

Security video shows Maria del Carmen Venegas visibly upset after her husband was detained by ICE officers at a gas station.Creditvia CBS Los Angeles

The agency said that it concentrates on people who “pose a threat to national security, public safety and border security.”

The Trump administration has given immigration officers broad authority to make arrests, and it defines who is a criminal loosely, including anyone who has crossed the border illegally. The administration’s stricter policies have led to increased arrests of undocumented immigrants — including some who have been in the United States for years — and the separation of children from families that have crossed into the country through the southern border.

Both Ms. Venegas and her husband have been in the United States for about a decade, Mr. Amaya said.

The couple had four children together — now five: While her husband was in custody, Ms. Venegas gave birth to a boy.

For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com